The Team

Steve Chalmers
Co-Founder & Executive Director of Movement Programs

Steven Wayne Chalmers, a Durham native, is a 32 year veteran and retired Chief of Police of the Durham Police Department. He has committed his career to reducing crime and improving communities through community collaborations and interactions, firmly believing that crime and disorder cannot be eliminated through law enforcement efforts alone. He has assisted in developing and implementing several community policing and empowerment programs, including Partners Against Crime, Durham Public Housing Unit, Durham Police Summer Youth Academy, Citizen Police Academy, National Night Out, and the Durham Police Department Gang Intervention Unit. He is also one of the founders, and current president, of Men of Vision, an organization of African American men committed to supporting young men of color, especially those involved in gangs and criminal activity, through mentoring and providing the necessary resources to help them change their lives. He is also a presenter for You and Five-0, a program designed to provide the community with information on how to safely navigate through law enforcement interactions. Chalmers has a Bachelor of Science Degree from North Carolina A & T State University in Greensboro, and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy at Quantico, Va. He is also a member, and Past Worshipful Master of Dorcas Masonic Lodge No. 460, PHA. Other organizations Chalmers has been associated with include:

The National Alumni Association of Hillside High School
James E. Shepard Sertoma Club
Downtown Rotary Club
John Avery Boys and Girls Club Board of Directors
Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club Board of Directors
Durham Rescue Mission Board of Directors
North State Law Enforcement Officers Association
National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives

In his spare time, he enjoys driving his classic car, attending car shows and enjoying his grandkids. Chalmers is married, with four children and six grandchildren.

As Executive Director of Movement Programs, Steve will have programming oversite in Hayti-JM, he will create policy and procedures, initiate and attend project-related stakeholder meetings; organize existing and solicit new community partners; collect, analyze, and compile data; prepare the final study report, and develop a two-year pilot program.

Lisa “L.A.” Jones, M.S.
Co-Founder & Executive Director of Movement Operations

L.A. is a military veteran, organizer, activist, and social justice advocate within the city of Durham, who is also a 30-year law enforcement veteran. She retired from the Federal Bureau of Prisons when she decided that instead of continuing to “fix” a system she did not believe in, she would use her talents to help “fix” the problems that were overwhelmingly placing black and brown people in the system. L.A. rose through the criminal justice ranks from a correctional officer to warden. She holds an advanced degree in criminal justice (corrections and behavioral studies specializations); serves on the Durham County Sheriff’s Community Advisory Board; and is the current Board Chairperson for the Southern Coalition of Social Justice (SCSJ). L.A. is also a seminary student at Meadville Lombard Theological School, where she is pursuing another Master’s degree in the area of Divinity. She is a member, a worship associate, and leader of the Black, Indigenous and People of Color group at Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, in Durham, NC. L.A. also has a number of valuable professional competencies and certifications.